Top 50 Web Development, Design and Application Icon Sets from 2010

Its that time of year again where we take a look at the best and freely available icon sets for web and application developers. Its been a tremendous year, with many new high quality sets being released, all perfect for your next project.

The icons have been split into several categories, starting with the Awesome Packs, which is a round-up of our favorites, followed by the General category (which is a selection of multi-purpose sets), the Mobile developer category, the Minimal, Wireframe and Pictogram category, the Ecommerce category, and finally finishing up with a small selection of Social Bookmarking icon sets that would be perfect for any web design.

We feel we have researched and explored every possible avenue, but if you feel we have missed out an icon-set, we would love to hear about it in the comments.

General Developer Icon Sets

Mantra (50 Icons)

License: You can use the set for all of your projects for free and without any restrictions. You can freely use it for both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. The set may not be resold, sublicensed or rented.Content Management System Icon Set →

License: You can freely use these buttons for both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. However, the set may not be resold, sub licensed, transferred or otherwise made available for use.Great Web Button Set →

License: Gentleface has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial — FREE. It allows for use in wireframes, on personal and community web sites, in free and open source software applications and other types of non-commercial usage. You can buy a Royalty Free license for $29.99.Gentleface →

Minimalist Pixel Icon Set (26 Icons)

License: These icons are licenced under a Creative Commons licence, so you are free to do whatever you want with them.Minimalist Pixel Icon Set →

Eloquence! Icon Set (75 Icons)

Eloquence! Icon Set →

And finally…

Peculiar – Pure CSS Icon Set (45 Icons)

Peculiar is icon package made only in CSS. It was created for sites and web applications that depend on fewer HTTP requests as possible or don't need to use any image at all. The package contains 45 pictograms that are available in 16pixels size.

License: Peculiar is available for free for educational purposes only. Otherwise, for any personal or commercial work a license must be bought. The license costs $25 (USD) and gives you the right to use the pictograms on unlimited sites and/or web applications.Peculiar – Pure CSS Icon Set →

Paul is the founder and editor of Speckyboy Design Magazine. He has many years experience within the web design industry and a passion for the latest web technologies and design trends. He lives in the small town of Inverness in the north of Scotland. Follow him on Twitter.